Book Reviews

Book Blurb

What happens when the man of your dreams makes your heart race… but loving him might break you?

Mark knew from the first moment that Sam could be everything. Beautiful, mysterious, aching for connection—Sam is the kind of man who could ruin Mark for anyone else. But Sam doesn’t need romance. He needs a friend, someone steady enough to stand beside him.

Mark can do that. At least, that’s what he tells himself. Until one touch, one look too long, and he realizes he’s already fallen.

Hopelessly, helplessly, completely.

Sam’s life is a maze of secrets and tangled loyalties. Love? That’s a fantasy for other people, not for someone like him. But then Mark walks in. Warm, loyal, unshakably kind—and everything Sam never dared to want.

If this were a fairy tale, Mark would sweep Sam away and promise him forever. But fairy tales don’t come true… do they?

Sometimes love isn’t about saving someone. Sometimes it’s about showing them they’re worth saving.

Two men. One impossible connection. And a love so powerful, it might just rewrite both their stories.

 

 

Warning – these pages show the aftermath of domestic violence, but not the act.

First edition published at Island Tales Press, July 2013. This edition has been expanded and re-edited.

Book Review

Set on the Isle of Wight, this is a somewhat tension-filled romance with a distinctly British flavor. The balance between intense emotions, the mystery around what is going on with Sam, and the sweetness once Mark and Sam both admit what’s going on between them is well managed. The wonderful setting and great secondary characters (well, except for the two horrible villains), as well as the underlying theme of domestic abuse added to the emotional drama and made for a great read. It’s not at all like the K.C. Wells books I have read and loved before, but wonderful nonetheless.

Mark is not used to romance. He is so shy that he barely has a sex life, making do with quick encounters in bars and one-night stands. But he does want to find his Mr. Right, he just has no clue how to go about it. So when he meets Sam, he is not just unprepared for the fact that Sam is straight (he has a girlfriend, after all), but Mark isn’t ready for the sneaky way in which Sam gets under his skin to the point where Mark realizes he made a big mistake – he fell in love with his best friend, knowing the guy is straight. What a mess!
 
Sam is a great guy, but he has a few secrets. As he gets to know Mark, he finds it more and more difficult to stay away from him, and it’s soon far more than friendship he wants. But he also has a job at his powerful father’s company, and a girlfriend who is clearly out to control him. I knew this couldn’t end well and suspected what was going on, but it takes Mark a little longer to figure it out. When he does, and once Sam decides to stand up for himself, things get ugly for a while.
 
If you like your romances with a touch of mystery and some serious drama, if two men who have to learn to stand up for themselves sound interesting, and if you’re looking for a read that is as full of tension and mystery as is filled with sweetness, then you will probably like this novella.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of his book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 234 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	12-August-2025
Price	$4.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Prince-Island-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B0FJL6RHYD